This disclosure generally relates to name resolution in collaborative applications, and more particularly relates to name resolution using social networks.
Many electronic collaboration systems exist, such as email and instant messaging, which facilitate communication and collaboration between individuals within the same office, as well as across the globe. The ability to provide such communication relies on, in part, every individual having a unique identifier, or “messaging name”, such as an email address or instant messaging identification, allowing messages to be directed to the desired individual. However, inherent in the use of unique messaging names is the requirement that a sender of a message know the unique messaging name of the specifically desired recipient. Such unique messaging names are often in opposition to the manner in which people verbally address one another, and even to how they think of one another. When John Doe is verbally asking Frank Doe a question he does not start the question with “Hello Frank Doe” or “Hello Frank Doe of the sales department of the Company X office in Ireland”. On the basis that John knows Frank, John would simply call Frank by his first name. Such metaphors are missing in messaging systems, as well as other collaborative applications, such as calendaring/scheduling systems and the like.
Similar problems arise when writing an email or sending an instant message and the sender is unsure of the correct recipient. Existing methods, such as “type-ahead” functionality, may allow a sender to type the recipient's name, and based on an alphabetic look-up on name directories, or based on recently used names, the messaging system may suggest a possible recipient. Type-ahead functionality using alphabetic look-up functionality or recently used names is sometimes not useful when looking for a recipient. For example if Tom is sending an email to some colleagues that he has dealt with previously on discussion forums and in some previous emails, namely to Liam, Fred, and John. Unfortunately, Tom has forgotten John's surname. The type-ahead functionality gives too many possible users with the given name “John”. Therefore, even though Tom has interacted with John in the past, if John does not exist as a recently used contact, the type-ahead functionality is unable to resolve to which John Tom wishes to send an email.